Growing Up
by peridotgreen
Summary: Fluffy one-shot about the antics of Katniss and Peeta's eight-year-old daughter.


**[A/N: This is just a one-shot, can be taken as a prelude to my longer fic "stop all the clocks"]**

**Growing Up**

_Briiiing, bring._

The sound of the phone ringing in the next room made both Daddy and I jump. I'd been begging Daddy to let me help ice some of the cakes in his bakery for ages, because they always looked so pretty, and he'd finally caved and brought me in after hours so we could decorate some together. He'd taught me how to ice little flowers, and how to mix colours to get just the right shades, and my cupcakes were coming out quite nicely if I do say so myself. We were just moving onto the second batch when the phone rang.

At first Daddy seemed surprised; why would somebody be ringing the bakery after closing time? Then he just seemed annoyed. For a second he turned back to me and I could tell he was considering ignoring it and just letting it go to voicemail, but he's too polite for that.

"Stay here Molly and don't move, I'll be back in a second." He said, putting down his icing bag and heading into the next room.

I would like the record to show that my will power held out completely for at least ten minutes. I kept icing flowers on the cupcakes carefully and I didn't even lick the sugary droplets off my fingers. But Daddy's conversation droned on for so long, and it didn't even sound interesting so snooping on him didn't keep me occupied. He seemed to be trying to placate an irritated customer who wasn't satisfied with her wedding cake.

The seconds and minutes ticked by and suddenly the scent and beautiful colours of those cupcakes were overpowering my senses. _No Molly_, I told myself _Daddy has to sell those tomorrow. Don't touch them_.

But apparently my mind and my hands aren't connected because as I thought that I reached out and picked one of the delicious beauties up. If my parents ask this is what happened next; I blacked out, and when I came to as Daddy walked back into the room I found that all the cupcakes had disappeared. But I think we both know the truth.

"Molly," Daddy said, in his warning tone. "Where are all the cupcakes?"

"A racoon came in and ate them." I lied. It seemed convincing at the time.

"Molly," Daddy said again, his tone low and dangerous. Daddy never got mad at me. Mummy sometimes did but Daddy was always the patient, quiet one. "If that's true then why didn't you try to stop him?"

"I did," I lied again. "But he knocked me out, I only just came too."

"Then how did all that icing get smothered around your mouth?"

"I suppose the racoon put it there to frame me?" This seemed like a very intelligent and logical answer to me. I was very impressed with my own lying skills.

"Molly, there were 14 cupcakes on that table. 14! Eating them all is a VERY bad thing to do!"

A part of me wanted to say sorry and accept my punishment, but another, more stubborn part of me was determined to hold her ground. The stubborn part won.

"It wasn't me," I said, trying to keep my tone steady.

Daddy rolled his eyes and picked me up.

"What? No! We need to do more icing!" I exclaimed.

"Absolutely not, decorating cupcakes is for good little girls that don't lie to their Daddys."

I scowled and thrashed all the way home to make life as difficult for Daddy as possible. Honestly, it was only a few cupcakes; he has plenty more, and I said I didn't do it! He should trust me (even though, you know, I was lying).

When I got home Mummy scolded me too. She and Daddy seemed upset that I'd eaten the cupcakes, but they were both especially mad that I'd lied about it. She said something about a seam, and her mother, and hunting, but she was talking very fast and I couldn't understand most of what she was saying. She and Daddy sent me to bed early and confiscated my dolly to teach me a lesson.

I was furious.

That's why I did what I did next; I decided to run away. I would run away to the woods for a few days to teach _them_ a lesson, in those hours of missing me they'd surely realise that I was worth a few sweet treats. I gathered together all the food in my room; a bottle of juice, four cupcakes and a big jar of sweets Effie Trinket bought me for my last Birthday from the Capitol. Then I took my teddy bear and some spare clothes and stuffed them all in a backpack before slipping out of the front door soundlessly. It was about 4am, and I stuck my nose in the air, pretending that the dark and the noises of the night didn't scare me as I headed purposefully towards the Meadow.

I was almost there when a more human noise stopped me in my tracks. It was a little boy whimpering. He looked about my age. There were two other children next to him; a boy and a girl. They couldn't have been older than about two. The children were shivering and holding their stomachs and scratching around in the dirt. I watched as the little girl lifted a bug of sorts to her mouth and swallowed it.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I cried out. My voice seemed far too loud in the quiet of the night. I ran to the children and put my arms around the little girl. She was so bony.

"I'm hungry," she said in a tiny little voice. I looked at the other two kids; they seemed as malnourished as she did. I think I recognised the eldest boy as going to my school, but I'd never noticed how starving he was there; he always wore baggy clothes and the brightest smile to cover it up. In that moment I realised how horrible what I'd done earlier was; these kids had no food and I'd gorged myself on 14 cupcakes. Suddenly I felt very sick.

I reached into my backpack and pulled out all the food I had, giving it to them.

"Thank you," the older boy whispered.

"I'm sorry it's not more," I whispered back. As my eyes locked on his I felt like the worst person in the world. Ever.

"MOLLY!" My father's voice cut through the night. She and Daddy were running towards me, arms outstretched, pained expressions on their faces. Mum reached me first and pulled me into a tight embrace.

"It's the middle of the night you scared us so much sweetheart," she told me, close to tears.

"I'm sorry," I said, hanging my head in shame.

"We're sorry for telling you off so badly sweetheart," Daddy said. "We only wanted you to learn your lesson."

"I think I have," I said, glancing at the children that were now feasting on my sweets. "You have no reason to be sorry Daddy, what I did was terrible and unforgivable and I wouldn't blame you if you sold me to buy new cupcakes." It may sound melodramatic, but in that moment I meant every word.

Daddy chuckled. "Unforgivable? You should see some of the things your mother and I have done."

"Peeta," Mummy warned him, and he shut up.

"Let's go home," Daddy said softly, wrapping his coat around me.

When I was safely snuggled back in bed Mummy and Daddy went back to their room, laughing.

"I can't believe how sweet she was, giving that boy her food," Mummy said. "She really is her father's daughter."

"Maybe she'll marry him someday?" Daddy said, and they both laughed.

I didn't get the joke.

**[A/N: read and review]**


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